


it's pretty obvious (but quite oblivious)

by evanescent



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, abandoned work im sorry, and probably other people too, it's like all these cliche college aus i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-02
Updated: 2014-04-02
Packaged: 2018-01-17 23:10:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1406050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanescent/pseuds/evanescent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Personally, I think, if you want to hit that, you should go get that."<br/>"You’re being inappropriate, Takao-kun."<br/>(...)<br/>“Midorima-kun, don’t tell me…”<br/>"What? I’m comparing your zodiac compatibility. That’s the best way there is."</p><p>In which one Kuroko's friends are willing to give him relationship advices (warning: they are usually not helpful at all) and things unfold in their own (slow and dumb) way. Kagami/Kuroko, with secondary Midorima/Takao and Akashi/Reo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's pretty obvious (but quite oblivious)

There are times Kuroko wonders why the universe inflicted him with such flatmates.

"Takao-kun, it was your turn to take out the trash this morning," he says, walking from the kitchen to the small living room and putting his jacket on the armchair. He has just got back from the classes and he can’t help but wrinkle his nose, naming a too well-known smell. "Haven’t you showered after the practice?" he asks in a disapproving voice.

Takao looks at him from the couch, still in his sports clothes. “Sorry about both of these,” he answers with a remote in hand, flipping through the channels. “I overslept, so taking out the trash ranked rather low on my list of priorities. And I wanted to shower here, but _somebody_ ,” he smirks, “is occupying the bathroom since I came back. It was a while ago.”

It makes Kuroko sigh quietly. Right, he shouldn’t be surprised. He goes to the corridor to knock on the bathroom door.

"Midorima-kun, could you please leave the bathroom finally?" he calls through the door. "Takao-kun stinks and I’m sure we’ve run out of hot water because of you."

There’s a lot of rustling and noises inside and Kuroko takes two steps back just right in time as the door opens and Midorima emerges from the bathroom, in a robe and a bathing cap.

"I can’t even take a bath in peace in this place," he mutters to himself and passes Kuroko to enter the living room. Then he hears Takao’s laugh.

"Shin-chan, if you told me you were having a bath with this cute cap on, I’d totally ditch the practice to come and bath with you."

"Takao, you have no shame."

"Why so harsh? It’s nothing we haven’t done before…"

Kuroko chooses not to listen any longer; instead, he goes to his room, puts the bag on the floor and throws himself on the bed, not even bothering to change clothes. The plan is to lay and rest just for a few minutes. He feels tired after having a lot of classes today and his flatmates are not really helping.

Nigou jumps on the bed and curls up to his side. Kuroko smiles and dozes off before he knows it.

…

The other times he wonders why he has such friends, anyway.

"I can’t believe this," Mibuchi says, putting his tray down on their usual table in the university’s canteen. "Remember that cute guy I told you about, the one who goes to French with me?"

"Yeah, what about him?" Takao is lazily eating his fries.

"He’s completely uninterested. In me, I mean." He sighs, disappointed. "He’s probably as straight as Atsushi-chan’s hair right now," he adds, glancing at Murasakibara, who just nods his head silently, mouth full of rice. "What a loss. Such face and brains."

Akashi looks at him from the other side of the table. “I told you, Reo. It was a waste of your time.”

"I know, but why Sei-chan has to be _always_ right?” He rolls his eyes, lips curving into a pout.

"Don’t worry, Mibuchi-kun," Kuroko reassures because Reo’s sad face is exactly across from him and it’s really hard to keep looking at him, picking on the salad this way. "I’m sure you will find someone soon."

"Aw, that’s so nice of you, Tetsu-chan," Mibuchi answers, lightening up a little. Kuroko eventually got used to being called like this. "Actually, are there any nice boys in your class?" Reo asks him suddenly. "You study literature, after all. There must be somebody."

This time, Kuroko just gives him a look of absolute blankness and comes back to his meal. In the moment Mibuchi turns his head to ask Midorima, the boy in glasses says, “Oh God, _don’t_. I will be late to my class. Goodbye.” He’s gone in the matter of seconds.

"Your boyfriend is a weirdo, but a pretty one," Reo says to Takao when they are left in five.

"Tell me about it." Takao sighs, half-annoyed, half-amused. "Hey, we’re playing the practice game soon, against that university not far from us, right? Maybe you will get to see someone then."

When the talk takes turn into a one about relationships, even with Akashi and Murasakibara dropping a word or two, Kuroko decides to take an example of Midorima and leave for his class as well. It’s good to have friends, but stillness and silence are sometimes better. Especially if the said friends are loud and completely shameless, in some cases at least. Kuroko has been told many times that he is straightforward to the point of being blunt, but really, there’s no comparison.

…

It’s a few days later when he is writing an essay on the kitchen counter when he hears the door to the flat opening abruptly.

"Kuroko?" The voice is untypically slumped and rather low.

"I’m in the kitchen, Takao-kun."

The flatmate shows up, lingering in the entrance, like he is unsure whether to come in or not. “Please don’t kill me,” he pleads with a miserable expression.

"What happened?" Kuroko asks, looking up from his essay.

"Well, I… Ah — damn, I lost Nigou on the walk in the park!" Takao bursts out eventually. "I swear I let him go off the leash just for a moment, so he could run around freely, he never has been the wander off-type anyway, and just before I realized, he was gone!" He pulls out the leash with a dramatic gesture. "I was looking for him almost twenty minutes, but with no result. He’s such a small puppy, who knows what may happen to him," he finishes, with a deep sadness in his features.

Kuroko is trying to process what he just heard when Midorima sneaks into the kitchen and asks, “What’s the noise about?”

"Nigou is missing," Takao cries out.

Midorima frowns. “Well, is it such a tragedy to make so much fuss about it?” he asks and probably regrets it immediately.

"Oh my God, Shin-chan, how can you be so _heartless_?” Takao smacks him with the leash, then turns back to Kuroko, “Don’t worry, we won’t give up. We can make and print out a lot of _Have you seen?_ kind of posters and hang them out, like in all those American movies.”

This idea makes the other boy sigh. “We’re living in the XXI century, Takao, there are better ways than this. Nigou doesn’t have a chip to locate him, right?”

Kuroko shakes his head.

"But he has a collar with a note including your address?"

"Yes, but —"

"See, that’s not a tragedy. I’m sure somebody will eventually find him and bring him back." Midorima makes a move like he wants to go back to the living room, but Takao grabs his arm.

"But we can’t just sit around and do nothing!" he demands and then calls out, "I know! Shin-chan and I will go back to the park to search it again, you stay here and wait, maybe somebody will show up."

"I need to read things for my classes —" Midorima starts, apparently not content with the idea.

"Oh my, you’re terrible sometimes," Takao snaps with annoyance. It’s hard to stop him once he’s decided on something. "Your medical career won’t die in vain if you dedicate one afternoon of your life to finding our favourite puppy. Grab your lucky item and let’s go," he says, pulling his boyfriend out of the kitchen. "We’ll call if we find out anything," is the last thing Kuroko hears before the door shuts.

He is still, holding a pen in one hand, thinking that Midorima’s idea with the collar and waiting here wasn’t bad, but even if, Kuroko’s address written there is his family’s house. Half of Tokyo from here.

…

For the next three quarters Kuroko struggles with writing the essay (it is going terribly) and tries to call his parents, in order to inform them about some stranger that may bring Nigou at their door (it is also not working, as they’re not picking up their phones). This uselessness annoys Kuroko to the point of frustration. He should have come with Takao instead of Midorima; at least, he would have a feeling of actually doing something.

He puts the kettle on and starts looking for a green tea in the cluttered cupboard, since it may soothe his uneasy spirit. At this moment, he hears a knock at the door. Quickly, he walks into the corridor and comes closer to open the door, dropping abrupt and impolite, “Yes?”

With some sort of abstractedness, he notices the stranger is huge — not as tall as Murasakibara, of course, but still — and has dark red hair; his voice sounds a bit low when he starts saying, “Hello, are you —” Then suddenly, from the boy’s bag comes a bark and something small and furry shows up in Kuroko’s field of vision.

"Nigou." He reaches out his hands and the dog crawls onto them, moving his little paws consistently and fiercely. When he brings him closer, patting him behind the ear, Nigou gives another happy bark, putting his forepaws on Kuroko’s chest and licking his face. It makes him laugh and he smiles, relieved.

"Thank you so much," Kuroko states sincerely, finally looking up to the stranger.

The boy blinks and shrugs. “Yeah, that’s fine,” he responds, clearing his throat. “The poor little guy was wandering in the park on his own, it seemed pitful. Or something.”

"How did you find out where to bring him to?" Kuroko asks, curious, still petting Nigou behind the ear and observing as the stranger shuffles in the door frame.

"Ah, about that…"

The sound of boiling kettle cuts out whatever it was he had to say. Kuroko makes a quick decision.

"Would you like to come in? I’m making a tea," he offers, turning back to the kitchen, not looking if the boy will follow.

He does, eventually, and Kuroko smiles, releasing Nigou on the floor and pouring the water into his cup. ”So, tea? Maybe coffee?” he repeats his offer, frowning at the cupboard. It really is a mess.

"I don’t really drink either. Water would be fine."

It makes Kuroko wonder again and he glances over his shoulder at the redhead who took a seat in one of typical bar stools (Takao’s idea, of course) and who is now trying to find a position in which one his feet wouldn’t touch the floor and, well. It’s kind of ridiculous, taking the fact his legs seem to go on forever, just like his arms, and yet, the proportions aren’t unbalanced, he looks about right. It would be a shame not to notice how well his body is built and visibly trained — also taking in consideration that he is wearing casual sport clothes and his bag has a small NBA logo.

 _Apparently so_ , Kuroko thinks and walks to the fridge, opening it and asking, “Sports drink will do?”

"Is it that obvious?" Kagami asks, giving a short laugh.

Kuroko just shakes his head with a slight smile and hands him Pocari. “One of my flatmates plays basketball,” he explains, taking his tea and sitting back in his chair.

"Really? Just like me." There is something strangely delightful about the way the redhead smiles at the mention of basketball; it is wide and sincere. "Isn’t he going to mind you gave me his drink?" he asks before opening the can.

"Oh, I don’t think so. Besides," Kuroko puts his book and notes on the other side of the table, "he was the one who lost Nigou, so he isn’t really in position to have complains."

"Right, about that. He should have been more careful." That’s all the boy says, so Kuroko decides to prompt him gently.

"I hope Nigou didn’t look as pitful when you found him as you described it to me…" Well, _this_ is ridiculous because just now Kuroko realizes he didn’t ask for name. Midorima would be horrified to find out that he let a stranger in without even knowing his name.

"Oh, shit, sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Kagami Taiga," the redhead says, holding out the hand across the table.

He squeezed, thinking, _Yes, definitely hands of a basketball player_. “Kuroko Tetsuya.”

"I know," Kagami blurs out and turns a little red. He pulls his hand back. "I mean, it is written in the collar."

"Yes, it is," Kuroko smoothly agrees, sipping his tea and waiting.

As expected, after a moment Kagami continues — starts — with the story. “So, uh, there’s no much to it, I was doing my usual running route in the park when I stumbled on your dog. Almost, literally.”

It is understandable; Nigou is still small and hard to notice at times. He doesn’t want to interrupt, but he finds himself saying unexpectedly, “It’s a nice park, for runners as well as for walkers.”

"Yeah, my favourite around here, it’s pretty great." Kagami nods. "And it’s not far from my university and apartment, so it’s definitely a plus."

Kuroko takes a mental note and keeps listening.

"So, I waited around, but it’s a huge park and when nobody showed up looking for the dog, I decided to drop by that address on the collar." He stops for a moment and scratches his nose. "Well, it was a long way."

"I’m so sorry about that, I realize." Kuroko smiles apologetically. "So much trouble, the traffic and carrying Nigou around…"

Kagami shakes his head, almost spilling out his drink. “Oh no, not really, seriously. It’s not like I lead a particularly busy life,” he says quickly. “It’s mostly basketball and food and sleep.”

"And classes," Kuroko adds politely.

"Right, classes. Oh, and putting up with my dumb friends," Kagami mentions with a scowl, but it’s fond.

Kuroko just gives out a wondering _Hmm_. He can relate to the last one.

"So anyway, I ended up coming over to your house and meeting your parents. Well, your mom, actually. She’s pretty nice." Kagami smiles at the memory, but then he slumps into his stool a little more. "And I found out that I needn’t have made it at their place. But shit, don’t say you’re sorry again," he says when Kuroko opens his mouth, "I told you, it’s not a problem since I get around in this area anyway."

"I see." Kuroko puts his cup down and picks up Nigou from the floor, putting him into his lap and petting. "So at least, I hope he wasn’t troublesome during that time you spent with him."

"What? Oh, not at all," Kagami reassures with a little too wide smile and leans back, finishing his drink. "Where’s the trash can?" he asks.

Kuroko gestures at the right spot and looks down on Nigou. The dog looks pleased, but something in his eyes remains as focused and serious as usual.

"Well." Kagami apparently tries to put an end to his speech. "That’s the story."

He nods. It makes sense. “I should probably update the info in the collar, don’t you think, Kagami-kun?” he asks, still petting Nigou.

He can hear Kagami clear his throat. “That’s right. Or, don’t let your careless flatmates to lose your dog.”

The statement makes Kuroko huff quietly. “I suppose.” Nigou seems to grow tired of the caress, so he lets him jump back on the floor.

"Ah!" Kagami makes a high-pitched noise. When Kuroko gazes at him, enquiringly, he just coughs and slams his hand against the forehead. "I forgot, I was supposed to pick something up for a friend."

"Oh," Kuroko says and can’t help but feel a little disappointed. However, he quickly recovers from it and declares gratefully, "If I could somehow make up for the time and efforts you have put into this case, please tell me."

Kagami is halfway through picking up his bag from the floor. He freezes for a moment and eventually straightens himself with a strange expression, stuttering, “Well… Actually…” but he doesn’t finish the sentence and Kuroko finds himself raising an eyebrow.

But then the door gets opened and the voices fill in a short silence.

"We’re back," Midorima calls out grumpily.

"I’m so sorry, Kuroko, but we didn’t —" Takao enters the kitchen and then stops, staring at Kagami. "Holy heck," he says, "you’re almost as tall as Shin-chan."

"You aren’t talking about Kuroko, are —" Midorima follows inside as well and frowns, surprised.

Kuroko makes needed introduction to explain the situation. “Takao-kun, Midorima-kun, this is Kagami-kun. He found Nigou and brought him back.”

"Oh!" That’s what Takao says and then he spots the small dog three steps from him. "Aw, welcome back, buddy!" he calls out and picks him up from the floor. "I am so, so sorry for losing sight of you, it will never happen again, please don’t be angry with me."

Kagami looks between the two of them, then at Kuroko, finally back to his flatmates. “You’re the one who lost him? So you play basketball?” he asks. When Takao nods, Kagami, still confused, glances at Midorima. “If I was to tell, I’d bet on you.”

"I used to play," the boy in glasses answers, at the same time as Takao states, "Hey, you tall people don’t get so ahead of everybody. If we ever met on the court, I’d give you a hell time."

It makes Kagami snort, but not in dismissive way. “Who knows, sooner or later, it’s possible.” He fixes the strip of his bag and looks back to Kuroko. “So, uh, I gotta get going. It was… nice to meet you.”

"You too, Kagami-kun," Kuroko responds with a smile, kind of feeling like awaiting something.

"Well, if you lose your dog again, at least I know where to come in the first place, huh?" Kagami smiles back, faint blush creeping up in his cheeks.

Nigou barks and it looks like it urges Kagami to leave. Takao guides him back to the door, as the good host. Meanwhile, Midorima is still frowning when he looks at Kuroko.

"Don’t tell me you’ve let in a completely strange person —"

"Oh my God, Shin-chan, you aren’t going to give us _stranger-danger_ talk, I hope?” Takao comes back to the kitchen. “The guy is huge and such, but seems soft. He isn’t going to murder us at night or anything nasty like this.”

"Takao-kun is right." Kagami didn’t feel like a strange person to Kuroko, not even mentioning dangerous. Besides, who would get through half of the city twice to return the dog to his owner? Only a person with a golden heart, honestly.

Though after a moment he regrets speaking up because Takao turns to him with a wide grin. “And he was totally attracted to you, I can tell.”

"Is that so," he murmurs and it’s his only commentary to this meeting.

…

"Takao-kun, what team are you playing this Friday?" Kuroko asks a few days later.

His flatmate glances at him a little absent-minded, flipping through the notes. Just the two of them are sitting in the living room — Midorima is still having classes.

When Takao gives him the name, Kuroko huffs, surprised. “I don’t recall them participating in any tournaments last year.”

"That’s probably because their team has formed just this year, they are newbies," Takao explains. He puts the pencil behind his ear. "But good from what we know. Actually, they are located not far from our university."

"Hm, I see." Kuroko lets himself to smile slightly.

…

When they enter their university’s gym, a lot of people are already gathered there. As usual in such situations, Kuroko and Akashi let Murasakibara make a way among the crowd, causing people to stare in awe (he continues not to pay attention, eating his candy bar) and take a step or two back. Midorima is the closing one in the group when they find nice seats in the audience.

"I never know why I come with you guys to the games," Murasakibara says, scowling at some loud students several seats from him. "They make me tired. And hungry."

"Perhaps it’s for Reo and Kazunari," Akashi states, eyes carefully detecting the court, waiting for the players to show up. Kuroko knows Akashi has played a little of basketball in high school and though never went this way himself, he had a lot of liking for the sport. "Also, it’s unbelievably tiring to put up with them when they sulk."

Midorima lets out a sigh and Kuroko can almost hear _Tell me about it_ into it. But then he points out, “They are coming out.”

Indeed, both teams are entering the court, causing the crowd to cheer. Kuroko quickly finds Takao and Mibuchi among other players, chatting about something. Then he turns to look at their opponent and it’s hard not to notice straight away — Kagami’s red hair are standing out, especially since he’s talking to two quite tall boys, one with dark-blue hair, the other is a blond.

The thought that he wasn’t wrong about seeing Kagami again so soon is a pleasant one and Kuroko needs to refrain himself from smiling so out of the blue.

"Hm, Kuroko," Midorima says in a tone Kuroko knows very well, since it’s usually reserved for Takao and means _Are you up for trouble?_ , “isn’t one of the players at that team the guy who brought Nigou back the other day?”

He does his best to act a little surprised; after all, he couldn’t know _for sure_ Kagami will be here tonight. “Oh, it seems so,” he says, voice muffled. Akashi glances at him and Kuroko knows Akashi knows he is reeking of half-truths, but the redhead doesn’t say anything about it.

"Shintarou, isn’t number seven Kise Ryouta?" he asks instead. "You used to go with him to high school, am I correct?"

"You know you are, Akashi," Midorima replies in a slightly annoyed voice. "I’m surprised to see him here, though. I thought he has entirely devoted his time to modeling."

Kuroko can hear Akashi’s quiet groan before there’s a heavy sigh coming from the left. “What a small world,” Murasakibara comments, sounding almost thoughtfully.

The players line up after a short warm-up and take their positions. Kuroko sees Takao approaching Kagami and he can only guess what the short exchange is about before the whistle blows and the small talks are put on side.

The thing with basketball, for Kuroko, is that he finds the sport itself absolutely admirable, even not being a player himself. Many of his friends and acquaintances starting from the middle school up to university have been affiliated with basketball, so he had an insight into lights and shadows of the sport. And he decided it was all worth it. The natural-born talents, the hard-working ones, the geniuses — they all have their ways and Kuroko respects and admires them, especially the ones who put so much effort and heart into something they love so much. He knows it’s not the case with everybody, of course; titles, trophies and fame are the goal itself for some of them, while for the others they are just an addition, a pleasant way of being rewarded for succeeding at something they would be doing anyway.

And from the moment Kagami scores the first basket, Kuroko knows he belongs to _this_ kind of people.

And it’s shameful, actually; his friends are playing — the whole university’s team — and yet he can’t help but watch Kagami most of the time. The way he is playing is so apprently his own; fast, with a lot of jumping and dunks, occasional dribbling to break through, visibly being entirely focused and devoted to the game. His teamwork also works well, especially with Kise Ryouta and the dark-skinned boy in jersey number five. Everything seems to fit into place so naturally.

Also, he cheers and smiles after every scored basket and it’s so radiant that Kuroko can feel his heart skip faster every now and then.

Just when the first half ends and five-minutes long break is called, he glances at the score. Kagami’s team is leading by six points.

"They are incredibly offensive team, I agree," Akashi says, apparently in relation to something Midorima told. Kuroko vaguely realizes they were commenting a little, but he was so focused that he didn’t remember a thing. "Especially thanks to Kise, Kagami and — what was number five’s name? Aomine, is that so? The pace they foisted is a battle of staminas and it doesn’t look like they will run out of theirs soon."

Midorima just nods. ”We look very defensive compared to them, but it’s not like we don’t keep up with the score at all. Nijimura is hard to stop when he gets hotheaded.”

"That’s right. Besides," Kuroko can hear Akashi’s voice sounding a little fonder than most of time, "Reo hasn’t showed them everything yet."

"The second half will be fairly interesting," Midorima concludes.

"They were running so much, it made me feel tired." Even Murasakibara makes a comment somewhat related to the match.

Kuroko realizes he’s being awfully quiet — it’s not something unusal for him, but he gets more talkative during watching games. And as for now all he could do is to make comments about Kagami and his wonderful smile. It rather isn’t something his friends would expect from him.

"I will go get something to drink," he quickly decides, standing up. "Would anybody want something?"

Midorima asks for water, specifically still, preferably in a glass rather than a plastic bottle, Murasakibara wants _the biggest can of cola you can bring here, Kurochin_ and Akashi says he’s settled well with nothing.

As he makes his way to the exit, Kuroko once again marvels at how many people came over to watch the match, even if it is just an exhibition game. He thinks it’s a good sign before the new season. Just when he heads to the drinks dispenser in the near corridor, he hears an angry calling.

"Stupid machine." The girl with pink hair crosses her arms, scowling. "How does it even work?"

"It does tend to jam," Kuroko admits, standing next to her.

The girl jumps a little, turning to face him. “Oh my! You scared me.”

"I apologize, I didn’t intend to." It doesn’t happen as often as it used to in middle or high school, but sometimes people don’t really notice him. "You have to kick it gently in the back," he explains, doing so. The bottle of strawberry water rolls down and he hands it to the girl. "Please."

She takes it with a grateful smile, saying, “Thank you. You attend this university, don’t you?” she asks when Kuroko buys the drinks for himself and his friends.

He nods and introduces himself. “I’m Kuroko Tetsuya.”

Some unnamed sensation flashes across her face, but she responds with, “Momoi Satsuki.”

As they walk back together back, Kuroko asks, “Have you come specifically to watch the game, Momoi-san?”

"Yes. I study at Tokyo East and some of my friends are absolute basketball idiots, so there." It sounds affectionately and he can’t help but smile slightly. "Besides, I do love basketball a lot."

When they enter the gym with their ways to part, Momoi speaks, “Thank you for help, Kuroko-kun.”

"It was a pleasure."

And just after a moment he hears his name being called out again and he turns back to see Momoi in the crowd. “Ah, I remembered, I heard your name before —” But he doesn’t know what came next because the commentator tunes in to call a start to the second half and Momoi eventually disappears in the flow of people.

Kuroko comes back at his seat right after the whistle and hands in the drinks to his friends.

"You were almost late, Tetsuya," Akashi states, giving him a short glance. "How unusual of you."

"Who was that pink-haired girl you talked to at the entrance, Kurochin?" Murasakibara opens his cola with a fizzle.

"A student from the other university," he explains.

His friends give out a collective _Hmm_ and Kuroko decides not to comment on it, focusing on the match. This time he has an intention of actually observing players other than Kagami.

And, well. It works rather poorly.

One can blame it on the fact that Kagami’s presence is just hard to ignore. He quickly moves all over the court, dunking the ball and just seconds later going for the block under the basket. And he’s loud — well, it’s not like Kuroko is able to hear much in the constant noise, but while playing, Kagami seems to express himself verbally a lot. But he knows it’s not really the case; there’s something else to it.

The second half is less offensive, but still dynamic and changeable. Mibuchi scores several nice three-pointers and Takao’s steals and good cooperation with other players are worth pointing out, as Akashi and Midorima state in unison. Eventually, the game ends with a tie, much to the audience’s surprise and some disappointment. He can tell they are expecting a playoff or some other deciding, but as it is an exhibition match, they have to settle with what they got.

"Though the score isn’t really gratifying or defining, it was a good game," Midorima says when they are getting out of their seats.

Akashi simply nods while Murasakibara sighs. “Seemed exhausting,” he complains. “I hope we’re going to eat something.”

"As usual after the match," they reassure him.

"Tetsuya, are you feeling alright?" Akashi’s voice startles Kuroko. "You’re a bit red in cheeks and your eyes are glimmering. Aren’t you feverish?"

Not being subjected to it so often, it’s easy to forget how perceptive Akashi is and how it annoys or makes other peple uncomfortable because he frequently shares his spot-on observations. Kuroko sometimes thinks he is doing it on purpose. Who can know for sure.

"Akachin is right," Murasakibara comments, looking down at him. "You look like in your pre-cold state, Kurochin."

Kuroko supposes he should be grateful that the other two of his friends are joining them just in a few minutes because it would be harder to brush it off just with, “I think it was a little too warm in the gym for me, I’m sure fresh air will be enough of a medicine.”

They take the side exit of the university’s building, making their way to one of paths lined with stones, as in old-fashioned way. It’s their usual place to meet up after the games, from where they go to a bar or a restaurant. The crowds of people are still leaving the gym; many familiar faces pass them by, but there seems to be quite a lot of students from the other university as well.

Fortunately, they don’t have to wait long. Kuroko hears a loud, apparently big group of people coming from the expected direction and he turns his head this way. And for a moment, he just stares because —

"Wait." Murasakibara sounds like he’s frowning. "Why is that other team getting here?"

It’s true; among their university’s regulars, it is hard not to spot the players from Tokyo East. Kuroko’s gaze quickly finds Kagami who is talking with Momoi. The girl notices the four of them standing under the cherry blossom trees and nudges her companion in side with her elbow. Kagami seems to give out a surprised and annoyed huff, but when Momoi tells him something, he turns into their direction and sees him.

Kuroko hopes his smile isn’t too dreamy or lunatic because it is certainly how he feels.

"Midorimacchi!" A sudden, cheerful calling is heard and then the blond boy — Kise Ryouta — parts from the group and rushes to them with a very bright smile.

"There’s no way I will —" Midorima doesn’t even have a chance to finish the sentence or dodge when Kise’s outstretched arms wrap around him in a welcoming hug.

"Aw man, how long has it been? We haven’t seen each other in ages!"

"The last time was shortly after the graduation, I believe," Midorima replies with a scowl. "Can you let go off me?"

Kise just laughs. “As grumpy as ever, Midorimacchi,” he cheers and pulls out afterwards. “I’m so glad your friends invited us over.”

The rest catches up and Midorima frowns at everybody, Takao especially. There are a lot of introductions made; Kuroko startles a few people when greeting since they apparently haven’t noticed him.

"Dude. You’re like. Huge." Aomine has to lift his head to face Murasakibara. "Didn’t you think about playing basketball?"

In answer, Murasakibara just huffs, annoyed. “Can we go eat something already?” he demands quite childlishly, turning to his friends.

"Excellent idea." Mibuchi nods with a smile. "We’ve been thinking, new Maji Burger? It’s big enough for us all."

People hum in agreement and start walking to leave the university’s area. Before Kuroko realizes, Kagami and Momoi drag along to his side.

"Hello again, Kuroko-kun," she says happily and Kagami settles with simple, "Hey."

"Momoi-san. Kagami-kun." He smiles at them and bows his head politely. "I’m glad you and your team are joining us for the dinner."

Kagami scratches the back of his head. “Ah, Takao came up with the idea and Mibuchi supported it. And Kise couldn’t miss out on the idea of meeting with an old friend.” He snorts quietly. “He’s such a sap.”

"Well, you really aren’t the one to talk, Kagamin," she scolds him smoothly.

"Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing in particular. I’m just friends with a bunch of idiots." Momoi looks ahead and frowns. "What is Dai-chan doing? I hope he is not picking on your friends," she wonders, directing it to Kuroko.

Following her gaze, he quickly understands the situation. “It’s not wise to pick on Murasakibara-kun,” he states, seeing as Aomine is walking beside him and Akashi, possibly still talking about basketball. “Especially when he’s hungry.”

She sighs, irritated. “I’m sorry, but I better interfere. He’s so terrible,” the girl grumbles to herself, running forward in small jumps. Kuroko thinks it’s for the best; Akashi is probably the best at dealing with upset Murasakibara, but who knows how much it would take to put out the possible conflict.

Just then, Kuroko becomes aware of the fact he and Kagami are left alone — as alone as they can be, still being in the crowd. He wants to say something about the game, but Kagami surprises him with a question. “Does it happen often?”

He blinks up. “Well, Murasakibara-kun is a bit short of temper and —”

"That’s not what I meant," Kagami interrupts him, frowning a little. "Do people often — I don’t know how to call it, overlook your presence?"

"Ah." Kuroko goes quiet for a moment and says eventually, "Sometimes. It used to happen more often back in time." Now it happens mostly with the new people, though he manages to startle his friends occasionally too. "It is favoring at times, though. I used to take some naps during lessons."

Kagami just growls out some answer and puts his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. After a moment of silence, Kuroko states, feelings his lips to curve up, “It was a good game.”

"Yeah, it was." The redhead cheers up, nodding enthiusiastically. "You guys have a good team. That Takao really wasn’t joking when he said they would give us a hard time on the court."

"They would be pleased to hear it." He looks to Takao who is hanging off from Midorima’s arm from one side while Kise is half-stuck on the other, with Mibuchi accompanying them. Kuroko actually feels almost sorry for Midorima. "Your team is also very strong," he adds swiftly.

It makes Kagami grin and Kuroko can feel his heart speed a little, seeing it so close. “Well, thanks. We have formed just this year, but I have known Aomine and Kise for a longer time. We used to study on the other university and we played a lot together, so there.”

 _It explains their excellent teamwork_ , Kuroko thinks. And he just blurs out, “You really play wonderfully, Kagami-kun.”

Kagami’s face goes through a lot of shades of red before he clears his throat and responds, “Ah, it’s just — I love basketball, everything about it. There’s no much more to it.”

"I disagree," Kuroko declines smoothly. "There is much more — natural talent, hard-work, determination and dedication, among many other things. I think it takes them all to make an outstanding player."

"Well, I suppose it’s true," Kagami responds after a thoughtful moment. "I have never really bothered to name them. I’m just glad to be playing."

"And that seems about right." He nods. "How did you start playing basketball, Kagami-kun?"

Kuroko likes it when people are passionate about something. He likes to see their faces lighting up, with eyes glimmering and traces of blush in the cheeks as they talk in focused, excited voice about something important for them. There is a certain charm in it, a subtle beauty, as well as a pleasure of being graced with the most intimate thoughts and sentiments. He clearly sees and hears it all in Kagami’s story, starting in America with Himuro Tatsuya and Alexandra Garcia, leading him back to Japan, and how relaxed and happy he is when talking about basketball. Actually, Kuroko is so focused that he realizes they got to the Maji Burger when everybody starts to bet who will eat more.

The staff seems to be torn between being overjoyed and horrified seeing them and it rather turns into horror as they start ordering food. Kuroko is actually amazed, looking at the amount of hamburgers Kagami is shoving on his tray.

"Are you going to eat them all, Kagami-kun?" he asks, genuinely curious as they go to sit by one of the tables.

"Yeah, I’m starving. It’s always this way after the matches." Kagami looks at Kuroko’s order with a doubtful expression. "You, on the other hand, just a shake? What, are you on some kind of diet or whatever?"

"Haha, Kuroko always ends up with shakes only when we go to such places," Takao explains, appearing out of nowhere next to them. "They specifically are vanilla flavour."

Takao lets Kise and Midorima to slide onto the seats by the other side of the table and just then sits himself. After a moment, Fukui Kensuke, Tokyo East’s point guard, joins them, taking the last free spot by Kuroko’s right and he engages himself into a conversation with Takao. Much to Kuroko’s silent amusement, Midorima gets little a flustered by being ignored; not by Kise, though.

"Hey, Midorimacchi, remember that time I took you to one of my sessions?" The blond boy still seems to be full of energy, bouncing in his seat and taking a few fries at time.

This question actually brings Takao’s attention and Midorima replies, pushing up his glasses, “I would prefer not to. It was embarrassing for us both.”

"Hey, do you happen to still have the photos?" Takao bends over the table, glancing at Kise who just nods. "Man, I so totally need to see them! Can’t miss such chance."

"Takao —"

"Sure thing! They are the most adorable."

As Midorima slumps down between the two of them, defeated, Kagami huffs between one burger and the other. “You guys surely quickly got along,” he notices.

"Hey, you and Kuroko are the ones to talk, aren’t you?" Seeing Kagami’s confusion and Kuroko’s blank expression, Takao sighs with frustaration. "Come on, bonding over finding the lost puppy and such is great!"

Kuroko sees Kise and Fukui exchange glances.

"A dog? But eh, Kagamicchi, you can’t stand dogs because you’re afra— Ouch!" Kise jumps in his seat and his pained shout seems to get everybody’s attention. "Why did you kick me?" he whines, looking at his friend with a scowl.

"Because you’re saying dumb things like most of the time," Kagami hisses at him. "You never know when to shut up."

Kise stares for a few seconds and then blinks. “ _Oh_.” And that’s all he says, suddenly becoming preoccupied with his fries and apparently thinking about something.

As the talks around them start anew and Kuroko sips his vanilla shake, he glances at Kagami from the corner of his eye. “You aren’t really fond of dogs, are you, Kagami-kun?” he inquires.

The question makes Kagami shift in his seat. Eventually, he responds, “…not really. I’m afraid of them, actually. I know it’s stupid, but…” He shrugs his shoulders, picking on a burger.

To say that Kuroko isn’t disappointed would be untrue, but now all the little things Kagami did or said back when they met for the first time make sense. And more importantly, he realizes something. “But regardless of that, you spent with Nigou so much time, carrying him around to bring him back to me. It was a brave act. Not many people would decide to do something like this.”

"Gee, you’re saying embarrassing things." Kagami shakes his head. "Your dog is… fine. I guess. Kinda weird, but didn’t try to attack me, so there."

"I see." He lets himself to smile, just a little though. It’s not bad.

He feels as Kagami stops squirming and the redhead asks, off-handedly, “So, where’s your dog? Do you bring him over to the matches?”

"Sometimes. Nigou quite likes basketball," he answers. "But it didn’t seem like a good idea to take him today, so he stayed with a friend who couldn’t make it." He knows Riko would rather go to see the game sick instead of staying at home and getting flustered, so maybe leaving her Nigou to take care of wasn’t a bad idea.

Kise seems to have been listening a little because he suddenly calls out, “Hey, isn’t it a good chance to overcome your fear of dogs, Kagamicchi? If you say it’s a puppy, there may be a chance.”

Kagami just frowns at him while Kuroko simply shakes his head, smiling. “I believe phobias don’t exactly work like this.”

"Aw," Kise replies with a pout. "When me, Kagamicchi and Aominecchi were living together last year, we wanted to have a dog, but because of Kagamicchi’s irrational fear we couldn’t."

"Hey, don’t call my fear irrational! Do you want to talk about earthworms?"

"Ugh, you’re so mean! I’m eating!" Kise sounds like he is about to cry.

Kuroko hears Kagami sigh. “Whatever,” he says, apparently referring to phobias. “I’m just glad I don’t live with you idiots anymore. Back in time, they almost set fire to our flat,” he explains to the rest.

"That’s because you went to America and left us alone so cruelly, knowing we can’t cook. What were we supposed to do, starve to death?"

"That’s what take-outs are for, Kise," Kagami grumbles at last.

For a moment the silence is interrupted just by the sounds of eating and Takao’s quiet whistling. “We look so boring next to you guys,” he says, a little disappointed. “The closest thing to something interesting was when we almost cut the electricity to our whole building trying to fix the installation.”

"Incredibly stupid of you," Fukui comments on behalf of his teammates, almost amazed.

Eventually, everybody finishes their meals and starts grabbing their stuff, getting ready to leave. Their table slowly begins to empty and when Kuroko realizes Murasakibara is almost done with eating as well, he decides on something.

"Could you lend me your phone for a second?" he asks Kagami who has just finished his order.

The redhead raises his eyebrows, but hands him the phone. Kuroko quickly tapes a sequence of numbers and saves it under his name.

"Did you just —" Kagami stares at the screen.

"Your friend may be right about your phobia, Kagami-kun," Kuroko states smoothly. "If you would like to have mine and Nigou’s company during your training in the park, feel free to contact me. I’m afraid my stamina is poor, but I’m up for walks."

It’s honestly hard not to smile at the variety of emotions flickering through the redhead’s face. He says finally, “Right. Thanks.”

"Tetsuya, are you coming?" Akashi and the rest of his friends are already on their way to the exit. Kuroko nods his head and gives the last glance at his companion.

"See you around, Kagami-kun."

"Yeah, see you."

Just when they are outside, Mibuchi puts his arm around Kuroko’s shoulder. “Did you give him your number, Tetsu-chan? So swiftly!”

"It’s dangerous to hand in your number to strangers like this, Kurochin." Murasakibara yawns. "Plus, that Kagami’s friend was so annoying, I thought I’m gonna crush him."

"I believe it’s not any of your business," Kuroko replies politely before Takao has a chance to say something. There’s some grunting at the way to their tenement, but he’s so trained at ignoring it that he doesn’t really mind.

…

"Are you going to go on a date with him?"

Kuroko sighs and looks up from his armchair. “Weren’t you supposed to have an extra class today, Takao-kun?”

It’s an early Satruday afternoon and all three of them are gathered in their flat. He’s trying to read while Midorima is watching the news on the couch and drinking his red bean soup. Takao is lying on the floor, apparently too lazy or sore to move, or both.

"I was, but the prof cancelled it," he answers, grinning. "So, what about Kagami? Me and Reo are very curious. We both agree he has a nice booty." Ignoring Midorima’s groan, he continues, "Personally, I think, if you want to hit that, you should go get that."

"You’re being inappropriate, Takao-kun." That’s Kuroko’s answer.

His flatmate just shrugs. “What? I’m just saying it like it is. He is into you. Man, he bothered through the whole city to bring Nigou back while he is _afraid_ of dogs,” he points out. “Seriously, give him some credit.”

"I’m not going to let this go on." Midorima turns off the TV and reaches for his laptop. "We’re going to settle this."

"What are you doing, Shin-chan?" Takao puts his elbows on the couch and rests his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder, peeking on the screen. "Oh, you’re checking his Facebook? Good idea, I wonder if he has some hot selfies there."

"That’s not for it," he responds. "I do think that there should be a column for blood types, though."

This statement makes Kuroko put his book down. “Midorima-kun, don’t tell me…”

"What? I’m comparing your zodiac compatibility. That’s the best way there is."

Kuroko would beg to disagree. But instead, he just tilts his head at his friends, wondering how it will end up.

"Hm." Midorima squints his eyes. "Aquarius and Leo paired up have a possibility for personal and mutual growth… The relationship would be based on admiration and powerful partnership… They would be very loyal and devoted to each other…"

"Well, it sounds pretty good to me." Takao shoots Kuroko a look from kind _Didn’t I tell you so?_ — nothing new, really.

The other boy pushes up his glasses and says to Takao, “It does seem appealing, but you shouldn’t encourage Kuroko that much. The profile would be more accurate with Kagami’s blood type, you know how much it may change…”

"Pff, now you’re getting picky," Takao comments, closing the laptop. "You had all the data and you still denied our _perfect_ compatibility for so long.”

"It was a different case…"

"Oh, was it so?" The black-headed boy huffs, pulling out and getting to his feet. "I see," he says with a trace of pout in his voice, heading to the bedroom.

Midorima sighs. “Takao… Takao, wait —” But he is already out of the living room and the door gets shut a little too loudly.

Before Midorima follows his boyfriend, he glances at Kuroko thoughtfully. “You know, zodiac compatibility is one thing, but I can tell you this for sure: don’t start a relationship with a silly, moody person.”

He can hear as Midorima knocks on the door to his and Takao’s room, calling out his name a little unsurely, even after over two months of a relationship. It makes Kuroko smile a little to himself.

"Funny," he states quietly. "I could tell the same thing to Takao-kun."

…

The next day Kagami texts him and asks for a meeting in the park. Kuroko has classes at that time, but they meet an hour later and he is pleasantly surprised at how nicely that afternoon plays out. And when Kagami very reluctantly and very carefully pets Nigou behind the ear just to pull out with a scowl when the dog barks — friendly, though — Kuroko knows things may only get more interesting from now on. Especialy if Kagami continues to smile at him so brightly and sincerely.

**Author's Note:**

> The other day I was thinking about how much I like the dynamic between Kuroko, Takao and Midorima and it led me to wondering what it would be like if they were roommates and so this idea was born. Also when I'm saying I'm not going to write KagaKuro till I finish other things, don't believe me because I'm probably wrong as heck.  
> I hoped to publish it yesterday so I could brush it off as an April Fools' joke, but well. (I kinda hope to finish this fic, though. I'm terrible at completing things.)


End file.
